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After I park in Willow’s driveway, I slip out of the car and jam my key fob into a pocket in my cargo shorts. I then jog up to the front door.
Shit, I’m nervous as hell as I ring the bell.
I hope this goes well.
Fuck, I hate conflict.
On the ice, I love that shit. But in regular life, I like calm and easy. That’s another reason why I stayed unattached for so long.
Okay, this is taking a while. Maybe Willow is really fucking pissed at me.
But just as I’m shifting my weight, thinking the worst, she opens the door.
Time stops. “Damn, babe, you look pretty.”
I’m not trying to schmooze her—she really fucking does. Her strawberry blonde hair is flowing over her kelly green T-shirt-clad shoulders, and her white shorts show off her long legs to perfection.
Smiling—and it’s a good one, so I think we’ll be all right—she says, “Aw, thanks, Arden.” She steps aside. “Come on in. I have bagels and cream cheese set out for breakfast. I was just about to eat. Are you hungry?”
“Yeah.” I nod. “A bagel sounds fantastic.”
When I walk in, I guess she notices my damp hair, as she asks, “Did you just get out of the shower?”
“Actually, yeah. I was working out with Nils this morning down at the practice facility.”
“Aw, got it. Going for weekend workouts now, huh? How’d it go?” she asks as I follow her into the kitchen.
I’m relieved this is what we’re talking about. It doesn’t look like Lydia is on her mind.
Thank God.
I take a seat at the table as she grabs two bagels from a bakery bag on the counter.
Running my hand down my face, I tell her, “It was good. We got in a really hard skate.”
“Mmm…” As she cuts the bagels in half, she asks, “Do you want yours toasted?”
“Sure.”
She prepares our food, then returns to the table and places my plate in front of me.
“Oh, hold up.” She sets her bagel down and walks over to the refrigerator. “I forgot to grab the cream cheese.”
After she puts a big tub of the stuff on the table, she takes a seat across from me. I pick up the butter knife she placed atop the cream cheese and smear a glob onto my bagel.
I pass the knife to her, and she does the same.
We’re quiet as we eat, but it’s not uncomfortable at all. This is our usual jam.
Willow gets up and pours us some juice once we’re almost done eating, and then we start to engage in conversation.
After taking a sip of her drink, she sets her glass down and says, “I had a lot of fun last night.”
Phew!
I am so fucking relieved that she had a good time, and that she’s not focused on Lydia, that I start nodding like a fool. “Yeah, I did too.”
Toying with the last piece of bagel on her plate, she says, “The fireworks were good, yeah?”
